Bed spring



R. LETENDRE BED SPRING Jan. 31, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 19, 1959 United States PatentO BED SPRING =RolandLetendre, 946 Brebeuf St., Drummondville,

Quebec, Canada Filedtflct. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 847,294

3 Claims. .(Cl. 5-211) The present invention relates to a bed spring-of metal construction and constituting an element separate from the remaining part of the bed. Such bed springs usually consist of a rectangular rigid frame having a plurality of metal blades or strips disposed longitudinally of the frame and connected to the transverse members of said frame by means of springs in order to tension the metal blades and provide for elastic-support of the mattress.

One disadvantage of such a construction resides in the fact that after use the springs of those blades which are disposed immediately under the bed occupants become extended and cause localised depression of the bed even when not in use.

, Still another disadvantage of conventional bed spring constructions reside in the fact that because of the difiiculties and special tools required for the assembly of the metal blades to the frame such bed springs are assembled by the manufacturers and are therefore expensive to store, to handle and to ship due to their relatively large volume.

The main object of the present invention resides there fore in the provision of a bed spring of new and improved construction and which obviates the above noted disadvantages.

A more specific object of the present invention resides in the provision of a bed spring in which the metal strips for supporting the mattress are all equally tensioned and remains under such a uniform tension even after long use of the bed spring. In other words the bed spring of the present invention remains straight across its width and lowers only along its length when submitted to forces normally encountered in its use.

Still anotherimportant object of the present invention resides in the provision of a bed spring which is easily assembled and disassembled and does not require any special tool for its assembly or dismantling. Thebed spring of the present invention can be shipped to merchants and even to the eventual user in disassembled condition and the user can also dismantle and reassemble the same for instance when moving. The disassembled bed spring can be placed in a small dimension carton, in order to protect the same from rust.

Another important object of the present invention is the provisionof a bed spring of the character described in which the tension of the blades is easily adjustable either uniformly across the bed or with more tension on one side than on the other side, in order to maintain the blades at the same level despite use of the bed by two personsof unequal weight.

Still another important object of the present invention resides in the provision ofnovel means for attaching the bladesto the transverse members of the bed spring frame, said means being easily removable when the blades are not under tension but being completely failure proof when the-blades are under tension.

Still another important object of the prwent invention resides in the provision of a bed spring of relatively simple and non expensive construction.

The foregoing and other important objects of the present invention will become more apparent during the following disclosure and by referring to the drawings, in which:

'Figure l'is apartial perspective view of a first embodimenttofthe bed spring;

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of the same embodiment, but shown from underneath;

' Figure 3 is asection along line 3--3 of Figure 6;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a special washer used in the assembly;

Figure 5 is. a longitudinal exploded elevation of'the first embodiment;

Figure 6 is a partial end view;

Figure 7 is a partial section on an enlarged scale showing the connection between a blade and the transverse angle iron;

Figure 8. is a partial'perspective view of a'second embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 9' is a perspective view of the clip used for attaching the blades to the transverse members .of the bed spring.

Referring now more particularly to .the drawingsin which like reference characters indicate like elements throughout, the bed spring of the present invention characterised by thefact that the longitudinal blades for supporting .the mattress are directlyattached at their ends to two transverse rigid members which are common to -all the blades, the blades themselves being nonstretohable and the bed spring being provided with elastic means exerting, a force between at least one of said transverse members and .the frame of the bed spring in order to tension said blades in a uniform manner.

Figures 1 to 6 illustrate a first embodiment of'the present invention. In this first embodiment the frame is essentially, constituted by .two longitudinal rigid tubular members 1 and two transverse members in the form of angle irons 2. Thehorizontal .flange 2' of each angle iron 2 is directed away from the bed spring instead of towards the same as in conventional bed springs. Support arms 3 connect the angle irons 2 to the tubes 1 at both ends of the bed spring.

Several metal strips or blades 4 are disposed longitudinally of the frame formed by'the members 1 and 2 and are parallel toIone another and have their ends directly connected to the angle irons 2. Each blade4 is provided with two holes. 5 adapted to register with holes 6 made'inthe horizontal flange 2' of the angle iron 2. A clip generally shown at 7 in Figure 9 secures the blades 4 two by two to the angle iron 2; more specifically,-each clip-7 consists of a metal rod bent to form a straight main portion 8 and two end portions 9 which are bent into the form of hooks and are parallel to each other and disposed in planes at right angle to the main straight part 8. As illustrated in Figure 1, the holes 5 of two adjacent blades nearer to each other receive the hooks 9 of a common clip 7, said hooks passing also through registering holes 6 in such a way that their ends will 5 abut against the underfaoe of the horizontal flange 2 of the angle iron 2. It Will be obvious that when the blades 4 are subjected to a tensional force tending to move the same away from the angle iron, the clips 7 will tend to pivot towards the interior of the bed spring and the hooks 9 will thus be firmly pressed against flange 2'. Clips. 7 thus form safety means for connecting the blades 4to the angle irons 2.

Support arms 3 are pivotally connected to the tubes 1. Each arm 3 forms at its lower end an elongated sleeve IO-Which receives the end of tube 1 and is pivotally connected thereto by means of a transverse pin 11 passing through nylon bushings 12, which make the connection completely noiseless. In order to prevent undesired removal of pin 11 the latter is grooved to receive the edges 0 of the square holes 11' made in tube 1 and through which the pin passes.

Pin 11 projects laterally beyond sleeve 10 a distance suflicient for said pin to serve as a support for the corner of the bed spring as illustrated in Figure 6, wherein it is shown that the external part of pin 11 rests on the angle iron of the bed. 'Thus, pin 11 can replace the special Part 13 is provided at its internal face with a flange 17 defining three sides of a trapezoidal figure. Bolt secures also a washer 18 against the internal face of part 13. Washer 18' has a flat top edge portion 19 which is adapted to engage the horizontal part of flange 17 in order to prevent rotation of said washer 18 and thus to maintain the same in such a position that its inclined internal face 20 will be inclined downwardly with respect to the general plane containing the flat part 13 of support arm 3.

Washer 18 serves as an abutment member for one end of a compression coil spring 21, the axis of which is inclined with respect to the plane containing the blades 4. Spring 21 which is of strong construction has its other end abutting against an abutment arm 22 which is adjustably mounted on tube 21.

Arm 22 terminates at a lower level than support arm 3 and is disposed in the same vertical plane. Thus, the blades can flex downwardly under the weight of a person lying in the bed without contacting the upper end of abutment arm 22.

Abutment arm 22 is provided with a circular boss 23 at its upper end engaging within the end of spring 21 and serving to maintain this spring in place. The other end of coil spring 21 is maintained in position because it engages within the trapezoidal flange 17 and is engaged also by the corners of the ribs 14 as shown in Figure 1. The abutment arm is adjustably secured on tube 1 by means of a set screw 24.

The arms 3 and 22 are provided with holes 25 and 26 respectively, which are in register for temporarily receiving a bolt and nut B as shown in Figure 3, which serve to bring the abutment arm 22 closer to support arm 3 against the action of spring 21 in order to compress said spring to the desired extent prior to securing arm 22 to tube 1 by means of set screw 24.

The assembly constituted by compression spring 21, abutment arm 22 and support arm 3 is provided at the two corners at the same end of the bed spring but can also be provided at the four corners of the bed spring, if so desired.

However, it is less expensive to provide the other end of the bed spring with support arms 3 identical to support arms 3 previously described and secured to tube 1 by means of pin 11. A brace rod 27 maintains the arm 3 at right angle to tube 1. Brace rod 27 is bent at its two ends in order to form terminal parts 28 and 29 at right angle to each other and at forty five angle to the middle part 30. End 29 is simply inserted within a hole made in tube 1 whereas the end 28 is threaded and has a shoulder in order to serve for securing the other angle iron 2 to the upper part of arm 3, as shown in Figure 5.

From the foregoing, it will be clear that the opposite ends of each blade 4 is directly secured to the respective angle irons 2 at the two ends or" the bed spring such thateach angle iron forms a rigid transverse member which is common to all the blades 4.

The blades 4 are maintained under tension by means of the springs 21 at at least two corners of the bed spring, said springs 21 resting against abutment arms 22 and tending to pivot the pivoted support arms 3 towards the exterior of the bed spring and thus exerting an outwardly directed pressure against the angle iron 2 at one end of the bed spring, thus, each blade 4 is subjected to an equal tension and each blade being in turn nonstretchable there is no local downward depression of the bed spring even after prolonged use.

The bed spring is easily assembled because the blades are connected to the angle iron '2 by the clips 7 prior to being put under tension. The tension is produced by means of the bolt B which move the abutment arms 22 closer to the pivotal support arm 3, as previously described. When the compression spring is sufficiently compressed, the set screw 24 is screwed tight in order to firmly secure the abutment arm 22 in'its intended position and the bolt B is then removed.

Figure 8 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention wherein the blades 4 are not directly attached to the transverse member 2 of the frame of the bed spring. The blades 4 are on the contrary directly secured by means of clips '7 to an additional transverse member which have the form of a metal strip 31 disposed parallel to angle iron 2 and connected to the latter by means of a plurality of small coil springs 32. The tension of the blades 4 is adjusted by varying the number of coil springs 32 utilised for connecting the transverse member 31 to angle iron 2. The transverse strip 31 must have a thickness suflicient for preventing its bending or deformation under the action of the forces exerted on the blades 4 when the bed spring is in use. This system has the advantage as in the first embodiment that all the blades are subjected to an equal and uniform tension. It is understood that one or the other or both ends of the bed spring can be provided with the system illustrated in Figure 8.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it is understood that various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A bed spring comprising two longitudinal members, two transverse members disposed above said longitudinal members, and arms connecting the end of said longitudinal members to the ends of said transverse members, each arm being rigidly secured to said transverse members, two of said arms common to one transverse member being pivotally connected to said longitudinal members such that the transverse member secured to said pivoted arms can be moved away from the other transverse member, upwardly extending abutment arms fixed to said longitudinal members inwardly of said pivoted arms, compression springs disposed between the upper ends of said abutment arms and the upper ends of said pivoted arms and lying entirely above said longitudinal members and their pivotal connection to said pivoted arms, and non-stretchable metal blades longitudinally disposed with respect to said bed spring and directly secured at their ends to said transverse members. I

2. A bed spring as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transverse members consist of angle irons, the horizontal flange of which are externally directed with respect to the bed spring.

3. A bed spring as claimed in claim 1, wherein said abutment arms are removably fixed to said longitudinal members for adjustable positioning thereof along the latter in order to vary the pressure exerted by said springs on said transverse member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

